'Disaster is coming' for bay

Commission hears that it's time to save Apalachicola's oyster industry

12:50 AM,
Dec. 6, 2012

Oysterman in Apalachicola Bay, such as Robert Keith in this photo from last year, told members of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission on Wednesday that a crisis looms for them and the industry without concerted effort.

Written by

Travis Pillow
Florida Capital Bureau

Shannon Hartsfield warned Florida's fish and game regulators that time is running short.

He told the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission on Wednesday that the bay that has borne his livelihood and thousands of others along the Gulf Coast now faces an existential threat.

If Florida, neighboring states and the federal government cannot overcome decades of legal battles and bureaucratic maneuvers to quickly restore the flow of freshwater to Apalachicola Bay, he warned, his voice quavering, "disaster is coming." ...